A known steering apparatus for a vehicle disclosed in JP2009-6743A (which will be hereinafter referred to as Reference 1) includes a tilt mechanism supporting a steering column so that the steering column is rotatable relative to a vehicle body for adjusting an operation position of a steering wheel. In addition, according to the known steering apparatus of Reference 1, an upper tube is slidably accommodated via an intermediate tube into a lower tube in an axial direction of the steering column; thereby, a so-called telescopic operation is performed by a telescopic mechanism so as to adjust the steering wheel to a desired position in the axial direction. Meanwhile, a known electric steering apparatus of a steering wheel is disclosed in JP 2008-68870A (which will be hereinafter referred to as Reference 2). The known steering apparatus of Reference 2 electrically adjusts a position of a steering wheel by utilizing an electric motor and a feed screw mechanism. Moreover, the amendment of proceedings of Reference 2 discloses a stopper restricting a movable range of an inner column by minimizing a relative movable range between a threaded rod and a nut.
In Reference 1, the lower tube and the intermediate tube are a relatively long tube and a relatively short tube, respectively. The long tube and the short tube are connected to each other to thereby correspond to a main tube of a steering apparatus of this disclosure. Additionally, in Reference 1, the upper tube corresponds to a telescopic tube of the steering apparatus of the disclosure. A cutout portion is formed in the long tube so as to extend axially. The cutout portion extending axially is opened from an opening end of the long tube. An attachment fixed to the telescopic tube (the upper tube) is accommodated in the cutout portion; thereafter, the short tube is connected and fitted to the long tube. In other words, the main tube in Reference 1 is formed by two portions, therefore increasing the number of components. In addition, a means of connecting the short tube to the long tube is necessary, resulting in a cost increase.
Meanwhile, according to the steering apparatus disclosed in Reference 2, an outer column corresponds to the main tube of the disclosure and the inner column corresponds to the telescopic tube of the disclosure. A connecting bracket (corresponding to the aforementioned attachment) fixed to the telescopic tube is arranged separately from the main tube. In addition, the attachment is not configured so as to enter the main tube. Therefore, the aforementioned cutout portion is not formed in the main tube. In addition, the stopper restricting the movable range of the telescopic tube is not arranged at the main tube or the telescopic tube. The stopper restricting the relative movable range between the threaded rod and the nut as described above is positioned at a drive member. That is, with regard to the telescopic mechanism, a relation between the configurations of the main tube (the outer column) and the telescopic tube (the inner column) that are disclosed in Reference 2 differs from a relation between the configurations of the main tube (formed by the lower tube and the intermediate tube) and the telescopic tube (the upper tube) that are disclosed in Reference 1. Likewise, the relation between the configurations of the main tube (the outer column) and the telescopic tube (the inner column) according to Reference 2 differs from a relation between the configurations of the main tube and the telescopic tube according to the disclosure.
A need thus exists for a steering apparatus for a vehicle, which is not susceptible to the drawbacks mentioned above.